Friday, January 30, 2009

Kati (Patsorn Kongmeesuk) is a nine years old girl whose parents went seperated ways before she was born and now her mother is dying of the incurable Lou Gehrig's disease. Living with her retired grandparents in a peaceful village of Ayutthaya on the banks of Chao Phraya river, mourning the loss but feeling very well-loved, Kati must decide whether to find her father and start a new life after her mother's death or stay with her warm, extended family that includes a kid-hearted temple boy and three very close friends of her mother.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A few weeks after a gigantic earthquake struck Tokyo. Metropolitan Tokyo is slowly beginning to function again. But the temperature of the Pacific Ocean suddenly increases after the earthquake, causing a tremendous typhoon. The largest typhoon ever in Japan heads towards Tokyo with devastating force. The tidal wave generated by the typhoon covers the coastal city area with water. The Tokyo Fire Department dispatches its elite rescue unit, Hyper Rescue, and their sonar picks up a signal from underwater. Beneath the ground, in one devastated subway station, there is someone sending out a code which is known to rescuers only…

“252… 252…” – “We have survivors!”

"252" is the rescue code that means "There are survivors." Somebody who knows the rescue protocol is trapped underground! The rescuers, the survivors and their families all pray for their loved ones' safe return. In the extreme situation, a rescue party tries to save the survivors at the risk of their own lives. In the face of death, a daring rescue operation is to be carried out, intersecting with many dramas of family, love, pride, and human life…

A Priest in Ireland meets a woman Valda from his native Lithuania only to find out her mysterious identity is closely connected with a darkest secret of his past. Desperate for a better life Valda left Lithuania for Ireland, hoping to find a new purpose in life but failed to fulfill a promise to come back she made to her son Paul. Now Paul is adopted by a childless Nora, ex-wife of the desperate businessman Ben, whose life is falling from his hands. Caught in a struggle with her husband's mistress Laima, she must fight not only for her firm but also for the custody of a child who now is her only hope in life. From acclaimed Latvian director Maris Martinsons comes a dramatic story developing in two countries, connected with each other by vast migration after the fall of Soviet Union, and six people whose destiny is bond in more than one way after tragic accident which happened more than two decades ago.

Set in Fenyang, Shanxi Province, the film focuses on a group of amateur theatre troupe performers whose fate mirrors that of the general population in China as massive socio-economic changes sweep across the mainland. The film commences in 1979 with the troupe performing numbers idolizing Mao Zedong, ending in the '80s when the shows reflect the strong Western influences pervading China, covering a decade in which China saw tremendous changes.

The Argentine, begins as Che and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956. Within two years, they mobilized popular support and an army and toppled the U.S.-friendly regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Follows Don Quixote, his "squire", Sancho Panza (Quixote's best friend and the wealthiest man in town), Sancho's donkey, Rucio (who wants to be a horse) and a real horse, Quixote's faithful steed, Rocinante (who hates leaving his stable) on their adventure to duel the "Knight of the Moon" where, if Quixote wins the duel the true identity of Dulcinea will be revealed.

It is a family drama about grown children visiting their elderly parents, which unfolds over one summer day. The aging parents have lived in the family home for decades. Their son and daughter return for a rare family reunion, bringing their own families with them. They have gathered to commemorate the tragic death of the eldest son, who drowned in an accident fifteen years ago. Although the roomy house is as comforting and unchanging as the mother's homemade feast, everyone in the family has subtly changed. This is a typical dysfunctional family, bonded by love as well as resentments and secrets. With a subtle balance of gentle humor and wistful sorrow, Kore-eda portrays just how precious and exactly how annoying, family can be.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

During the reign of King Sejong, Joseon Dynasty was the embodiment of the perfect state. To the Ming China, the aspiring imperial power, Joseon presented an obstacle to territorial expansion. The Ming China demanded submission and interfered with internal affairs of Joseon. All the while keeping Joseon in check with the constant threat of the northern barbarians. Disgusted by the Chinese interference ,King Sejong secretly develops the Phantom Arrowslinger, a weapon he intends to use to take back Joseon’s land and supremacy. but When Chinese spies discover the plan, the Chinese emperor attempts to disrupt the development with force, setting off a chain reaction of violence.

The mother (Keiko Matsuzaka), a hospital attendant by day, a club hostess at night raises three sons with their uncle (Ittoku Kishibe). There is Hasanori: the skinny but spunky sixth grader who likes to cross-dress, Yukio: the punkish junior high schooler who becomes fascinated with "Hamlet," and Masashi: the high schooler who falls for a an older woman with a father fixation.

Friday, January 9, 2009

When Lee Jin-woo rescued Su-eun from a fire they both defied the odds in surviving. He fell in love with her older sister, Soo-jeong Lim, who now desires the brave fireman to propose marriage thinking that this will make him less fearless in facing the flames and lessen her greatest fear. He wishes to do so, but his romantic streak causes him to seek the proper moment. Su-eun works as a "character" in an amusement park. Her face was scared in the fire, and in addition she is a deaf mute. Feeling free to be more forward when in costume behind a large "Raggedy-Ann" head, she approaches a handsome artist who frequents the park to paint. He starts to come infatuated with her, despite never having seen her face or heard her voice. She starts to fall in love with him. Choi Suk-hyun informs her boyfriend, Jung Ha-seok, that she wishes to break up for he is still unemployed after 3 years and she cannot face a future of poverty. He vows to get a job to reverse her feelings, and when a stranger enlists him to tell her boyfriend a final "goodbye" on the phone, he decides that he can turn doing this into an online business and starts a "separation agency." Busy with her career, Eom Jung-hwa neglects her young son Park Hwi-chan, and he becomes a problem at school. When she is hospitalized he becomes happier since he can visit her anytime and she has time to spend with him. Separation looms as a possible outcome for all of these inter-twined souls who who live and love in Seoul, Korea.

Court maid Wol-ryung (Seo Yeong-hee) is found hanged in her room in the royal palace. Court nurse Chun-ryung (Park Jin-hee) realizes that Wol-ryung was murdered, and an autopsy reveals that she had given birth, contrary to the law requiring court maids to be virgins under penalty of death. Wol-ryung was also the personal maid of unpopular concubine Hee-bin (Yoon Se-ah), who has given birth to the king's only son in 15 years but is not accepted by the queen mother. A murder investigation would cause too many problems for everyone, and Chun-ryung is forced by her superiors to declare Wol-ryung's death a suicide. She starts investigating the murder on her own, and discovers that the case is far more complicated and dangerous than it would seem. Something supernatural is also occuring in the palace.